Company & Employee Onboarding
Streamline onboarding with Check by efficiently setting up companies and employees for payroll.
Check makes it simple to set up companies and onboard employees so they’re ready for payroll quickly and accurately. This article walks through best practices for preparing your data, creating companies, and adding employees—whether one at a time or in bulk.
Preparing Your Data
Before starting setup, take time to ensure your data is clean and properly formatted. This reduces errors and speeds up onboarding.
- Convert data into Check’s import templates to match the required structure.
- Use spreadsheet tools to validate inputs, catching typos or formatting issues before uploading.
- Flag key fields such as SSNs, pay periods, and benefits to confirm they’re accurate and complete.
Company Setup
The first step is creating the company record and its associated workplaces. Once complete, you can add employees.
👉 See Company Setup Overview for a detailed walkthrough.
Employee Setup
Check supports two workflows for adding employees:
- Standard onboarding — Invite employees to complete their own onboarding via Console or API.
- Bulk creation — Upload up to 25 employees at a time via CSV.
Standard Employee Onboarding
When creating employees individually, you’ll generate an onboarding link that guides them through setup.
- In Console, open the Companies section and select a company.
- Go to the Employees tab.
- Click Add Employee to create a profile (or use your API integration).
- Generate and share the onboarding link.
- The employee completes three sections:
- Personal Information (name, address, SSN, etc.)
- Payment Method (bank entry or Plaid connection)
- Tax Withholding (federal and state forms, electronic signature)
Once submitted, the employee’s profile is ready for payroll.
📖 Learn more: Employee Onboarding
Bulk Employee Creation
For faster setup, Console supports bulk employee uploads. Keep in mind that bulk upload is designed for initial setup only. Once employees have been added to Console individually, you won’t be able to use the bulk tool again. We recommend using it when you’re bringing in all—or at least most—of your workforce for the first time.
✔️ Prerequisites
- The company and workplaces must already exist.
- Up to 25 employees per upload.
- Supports W-2 employees only.
- Bulk upload cannot edit or delete existing records.
📋 Required Fields
Each row in the CSV must include:
- First Name, Last Name
- Address (Line 1, City, State, Postal Code)
- Date of Birth
- Start Date
- Workplace ID(s) and Primary Workplace
Optional fields: SSN, email, metadata, payment method preference, W-2 e-consent.
🔁 Webhooks
Check sends webhooks as employees are created. Configure your endpoints to process these and sync records into your system.
🚀 Uploading the File
- Download the bulk template from Console.
- Enter employee data (up to 25).
- Validate inputs to avoid errors.
- Upload your CSV—employees appear in Console once created.
Error Handling
Errors will occur if:
- Required fields are missing
- File exceeds 25 employees
- Duplicate employees are included
- Dates are invalid (e.g., start before 1950)
- Workplace IDs don’t match the company
Errors display inline in Console, similar to API validation messages.
👉 Learn more: